It never made sense. How is telling half the people to not work prevent the spread. Is the other half (essential) not able to spread this? + telling 330 million people to do something doesn’t work. It worked somewhat the first week then people started doing there own method of distancing.
“Is the other half (essential) not able to spread this?”
That half is able to spread it.
But we can’t go without food and medical care or we’d kill ourselves by starvation and needless fatalities due to injury and sickness.